Robotrek and Final Fantasy are pretty different games. They have different approaches to just about everything, but there are a handful of similarities. Many of them are because these are both turn based RPGs, and they have similar approaches to telling their story.
These are two of my favorite RPGs. Final Fantasy was the first one I played, and Robotrek is a game that I first learned about through emulation. I’ve probably mentioned this a few times in the other things I’ve written. My opinion on one of them has shifted a bit over the last few years.
These games bring something different to the table. Robotrek is a more unique game when you compare it to other RPGs. Final Fantasy is what I’ve come to expect from a retro game in this genre.
Because these games are on two different console generations, I won’t be focusing on graphics that much. I just don’t think it is a fair comparison. I’ll go over how they tell their stories, but not how the graphics stack up to each other. Let’s get into the general descriptions of these games.
Game Descriptions/Overviews
These games have very different settings and overall tones. It makes comparing them a little more fun for me because they have some big differences. Here are some brief overviews of both games.
Robotrek is a science fiction game that has some time travel and space travel in it. You play as a young inventor, and you have to eventually save the universe. There is a crafting system in the game, which includes creating robots to fight your battles. The game is more of a comedy at times than everything goes off the rails.
Final Fantasy is a high fantasy game that has some science fiction in it. The player forms a party of four characters and can customize them to some extent. In this game, you have to save a princess, restore the light to the four elemental orbs, and eventually defeat a big bad guy who has created a two thousand year time loop.
There is a little more to each of these games, but I wanted to keep this as brief as I could. I like both stories, and each game has some fun characters. Let’s get into the main differences, and then go over the core mechanics.
Main Differences
There are quite a few differences in this game. I’m going to try to stick to the significant differences here and then cover the minor ones when I compare the core mechanics. I’ll be looking at the combat, tone, exploration, and party construction.
These games have radically different approaches to combat. Final Fantasy is a more traditional turn-based console RPG. Robotrek is an active-time tactical RPG when it comes to combat. You move your robot around on a grid, and if you beat all the enemies fast enough, you’ll get some bonus experience.
Final Fantasy is a darker game where everything is taken seriously. There isn’t much comedy in the game, and the graphics are darker and more threatening at times. Robotrek is a bright and colorful game where there is much more comedy. Enemies look goofy, and a little like wind-up toys.
Robotrek doesn’t let you explore the game’s world. You move on a set path and stop at specific locations where you’re allowed to explore. Final Fantasy allows the player to explore the world, dungeons, and castles at their own pace. Once you get the airship, you can go anywhere.
This ties into the combat a bit, but I thought it was worth mentioning. Robotrek has you control one robot during combat, and you can build three. You can customize their equipment, stats, and color, but they’re basically the same in appearance. Final Fantasy has you create a party of four. There are six character classes, and you can use any combination of them that you want.
These are the big differences between these two games. There are so many things I could bring up here, but I wanted to keep it short. Let’s compare their core mechanics, which will have a few of the minor differences that I didn’t mention here.
Comparing Core Mechanics (Combat, Story, Visuals, etc)
At their core, these games have similar mechanics, but their approaches are different. I’ll be going over the story, gameplay, and visual storytelling here. I’m going to try to focus on things I didn’t mention in the previous section.
Final Fantasy has you control four characters and uses turn based combat. Robotrek uses active time combat and is much more tactical. You only control one character during combat, but you can swap between three robots if you want.
Instead of a magic system, Robotrek lets you program attacks for your robots. Final Fantasy has an archaic magic system that I’ve grown to dislike. I much prefer how other console RPGs do things when compared with the first Final Fantasy.
Both games have a grand story where the player tries to either save a world or the galaxy. Final Fantasy’s story is much darker in tone. Granted, nothing too terrible happens when compared to other RPGs. Robotrek’s story feels like more light hearted and gets increasingly bizarre as things go on.
The two games have similar approaches to how they tell their story. The graphics are quite different, but they do use in-game graphics to tell their story. I do think both games have graphics that enhance how the game is played and the story that is being told.
There is more to this, but I don’t want to overload this section. Their approaches to combat are most glaring as Robotrek went way outside of the box. This isn’t the case where one direction was better than the other. The way these games made their combat play out works for them. Let’s get into what each game does better than the other.
What Does Robotrek do Better?
There are several things that I like more about this game. Robotrek has a fresher story, I like the combat more, and the graphics are something that I enjoy more. This is a very unique game when it comes to RPGs on the SNES. It doesn’t play the same as many of the others.
I’ve only beaten this game a few times. There is less fatigue when it comes to the game’s story. I enjoy that it gets a little crazy as the game goes on. Everything is explained, and that helps to make it a little funny as they give reasons for the insane stuff that is happening.
The more tactical combat is something that I enjoy. While it would’ve been great if all three robots were on the screen at the same time, I really enjoy what is here. When a boss character shows up, things get awesome as you have to move around to avoid attacks and get to the weak spots.
I really like Robotrek’s cartoonish graphics. It is a nice change of pace from the games that are trying to be more serious or even a little scary. Everything in this game looks like it could be a wind-up toy. It matches the story very well.
The game’s crafting system is a lot of fun! I like how it works and how you can get more plans as you level up. It also works well with the puzzle solving parts of the game, as you can build, upgrade, or repair your key items. It is a very cool way of working in that your character is supposed to be an inventor.
These are some of the things that Robotrek does better than Final Fantasy. Much of this is a personal preference, which feels like something I shouldn’t have to say in an opinion piece, but that is how the internet is today. Let’s get into what Final Fantasy does better.
What Does Final Fantasy do Better?
Final Fantasy does quite a few things better than Robotrek. I like that you can explore the game’s world, the story is clearer, and there are more side quests. Because these games are so different, this is a little tricky.
Being able to explore the world is something that I enjoy in RPGs. Final Fantasy lets you do this, and encourages it. Like many games in this genre, you’ll be given vague directions on where to go, and you have to look for things.
Things are much clearer in this game. While there is crazy stuff in this game, it all fits into the story. It feels like a high fantasy game that just happens to have some science fiction stuff in it. I just really like how it is all done.
It felt like there were more side quests in Final Fantasy. Robotrek is largely a linear game, which means you take things on in order. With Final Fantasy, you can do some things out of order or in whatever order you want. This includes the class change or getting some of the key items and spells.
This was a little hard because of how different these two games are. Thankfully, this is an opinion piece. Much of what I’ve written in these two sections has to do with my personal preference. I’m sure that others have their own opinions, which is a good thing. The world would be very boring if we all thought the same way.
Which is Better Overall and Why?
Like many people, I have an idea of what an RPG looks like in my mind. When I compare these games, Final Fantasy has more of what I think of than Robotrek. Final Fantasy has a great story, you can explore the game’s world, and more side quests for you to go on.
This game has a good story. The developers were able to put a fun story into this game and give the player quite a bit to do. Parts of Final Fantasy’s plot would be used in several other games in the series, which is something that stood out to me over the solo titles like Robotrek.
Being able to explore the game’s world is much better than what you have in Robotrek. I like the freedom it offers the player, and it lets you tackle parts of the game at your own pace. Things like this are always fun for me, as it gives the player the chance to visit places out of order instead of in a linear path.
Final Fantasy either has more side quests, or they at least stood out more to me. I have played this game a lot over the last thirty five years, so I’ve spent a lot of time doing everything I could in the game. With Robotrek, everything is driving you towards the end of the game, and there is little deviation.
Final Fantasy is one of the games that feels like it has been ingrained in my mind. I have a lot of memories with it, and I’ve gotten a little fatigued with it. It is the better RPG overall, even if it isn’t the one that I would want to play again.
Which Would I Rather Play?
Robotrek is the game that I would want to revisit. Much of this has to do with being fatigued with Final Fantasy. I do enjoy the combat more, I like the absurd story, and the characters are much better. The crafting system in this game is also very good, even if it is a little basic.
The tactical combat is much more interesting to me. I also like that you can swap between your robots in a fashion similar to a Pokémon game. You can have three robots, and only one of them can be in combat at a time. The program mechanic for special attacks is a nice replacement for a magic system.
Robotrek has a story that gets increasingly complicated as it goes on. The main enemy changes, and eventually, you travel through time. Then, you go into space! The whole time, things are played for laughs instead of being all that serious.
I really like the characters in this game much more than in Final Fantasy. Both games have silent protagonists, but Robotrek’s feels like more of a character instead of a cutout for the player. The side characters are also more fun as they add a lot to the story.
Just seeing a crafting system in a retro game is amazing. While none of these are impressive, they’re quite fun. Robotrek has the player learning patterns as they level up, and these patterns are how you make and upgrade equipment for your robots. It is such a cool idea!
These are the reasons I would want to revisit this game. I also have a lot of memories with it. Not to mention that I haven’t beaten it as many times as Final Fantasy. This game feels like less of a choir when I play it.
Conclusion
It is interesting going back to look at Final Fantasy and see what I like and don’t like about it. Comparing it to other games in the same genre is quite a bit of fun because of how these games take different approaches to the genre. There aren’t two games that are exactly alike.
Seeing how companies tried new things and abandoned stuff that wasn’t working has been cool so far. The first Final Fantasy is a good game, but it has been surpassed by other RPGs. Robotrek is a unique game that doesn’t have a great comparison. It makes things more fun for me when something like this happens.
I like both of these games for different reasons. Robotrek is one of the games that I played on an emulator, and it was something I really enjoyed. When I started collecting games, this was one of the first ones that I looked for.
Science fiction and high fantasy games make for some interesting comparisons. The Final Fantasy games tend not to be pure high fantasy, and that is something fun about them. Next time, I’ll look at two science fiction games. It should be fun.
If you liked this post, check out some of the others in this series. Such as Final Fantasy vs Dragon Quest or Robotrek vs Final Fantasy Mystic Quest.